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Malaysian air crew quarantined over swine flu
AirAsia crew members, 101 passengers on flight to be put under quarantine
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Budget airline AirAsia said Sunday it has quarantined five crew members from a domestic flight that carried Malaysia's second confirmed swine flu victim.
The crew of flight AK5358, which flew from Kuala Lumpur to the northern city of Penang on Wednesday, was taken off duty Saturday, AirAsia spokesman Hamdan Mohamad said.
He said this was done on the orders of the Health Ministry as a precautionary measure.
The flight was taken by Malaysia's second confirmed swine flu case, a 21-year-old female student who had arrived in Kuala Lumpur on a Malaysian Airlines flight earlier Wednesday from Newark in the United States. She was hospitalized after reaching Penang.
Malaysia's first confirmed victim is a 21-year-old friend of the woman, who also was on the Malaysian Airlines flight. He has been hospitalized in Kuala Lumpur.
The Star quoted Health Ministry Deputy Director-General Ramlee Rahmat as saying that both were in stable condition.
He said all 101 passengers on the AirAsia flight would be put under home quarantine.
Of the 119 passengers on the Malaysian Airlines flight, 95 have been located and put under home quarantine along with 15 crew members, Ramlee was quoted as saying. The 95 — 80 Malaysians and 15 foreigners — all are healthy, he said. The ministry is still trying to locate one remaining Malaysian and 23 foreigners, he said.
The World Health Organization has confirmed at least 8,480 human cases of swine flu in nearly 40 countries, mostly in the U.S. and Mexico, including 72 deaths.
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